Ezekiel Stane is on the scene and fixated on avenging the death of his father, Obadiah. Every bit as ruthless and ten times as smart, the younger Stane is all five of Stark's nightmares rolled into one and his perversion of Stark's technology into a weapon capable of slaying hundreds of innocents at a time starts the clock ticking on a chess game Iron Man must win! Then, the manhunt is on!

As director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony Stark had sole possession of a database that contained the secret identities of every registered hero in the country. But now, S.H.I.E.L.D. is no more. A casualty in the aftermath of the Skrull's Secret Invasion, the international peacekeeping organization has been replaced by the Dark Reign of Norman Osborn and his newly conceived H.A.M.M.E.R. a less kind, decidedly less gentle remaking of the legendary security force!